I am impressed with the bass on my TORII MK II as well. Really tight good and solid. I wonder if your amp got the CCE mods. Mine does. Think it may have been one of the first out with it. Although I do not have anything to compare (standard version) I am really impressed and happy with the TORII MK II.

I'm not sure what those mods are. . . not sure, my invoice just says "brought up to production specs". . . . .

Anyway, I swapped out two tubes for cryo'd 6N1Ps I have around and added Herbie Audio Haloes to all tubes (I had just the right types and sizes on hand, amazing!) and I"m enjoying it a lot this morning. But. . . thank God for the output selection switches. This would sear my ears without it!

I wish that Steve HAD installed that mod. . . my guess is it isn't in there, I wasn't charged for it. Anyway. . . I HATE sending stuff back to Decware, the wait is too long, etc. So. . . I'll pretend I have it or don't need it. . . til that doesn't work any more. ;)

I'm spoiled. . .the Integrated I've been using for several months is an amazing amp. There's a depth to the sound that this amp doesn't have (sort of a single-ended thing in comparison to this push-pull --- I've had push-pull in the past but for about the last 12 years it's been single-ended). . . So yes this amp is a great one, with bass and detail, but the Integrated also has something special going for it not quite here.

But I'm very happy with this amp right now. Probably in time I'll send it back for that mod and for the treble cut circuit to be added if possible. . . .I love that new circuit Steve has developed.

I put the CCE in your Torii MK II while it was here. The amp already has a treble cut pot on each channel. There is nothing that can be done or updated further so you won't have to worry about ever sending it back.

Thanks Steve. Good news. . . I don't think either one of us wants to do the heavy lifting that is involved in packing and shipping this amp!

So. . . the treble cut pots. . . where are they? Are they the two toggles that I thought were the "output selector" switches? Otherwise, I don't see any visible pots or other switches they could be. Thanks.

I can now say that the CCE mod may well be responsible for a layer of the excellent sound on this amp. . . but I don't know what this amp may have sounded like before this (or rather what a production spec amp sounds like without the mod). But I'd wager fearlessly the mod is well worth the cost and effort.

Steve you devil! I had just gotten an email from Bob and he said maybe they are on the back. . . or the bottom. . . I knew they weren't but I walked over and looked. . . and saw the screwdriver head slot on the tube socket centers! Great place to put them Steve. I've just finished adjusting them where they suit most recordings.

This amp is sweet. And strong. And revealing. Kudos, this is a great design and implementation. (The beautiful base Bob built for it is awesome as well!)

Alright, I realize that I haven't had this amp for long, and that it may be a bit atypical in that it's almost a prototype that has been reconfigured to current production status.

And I know that with Decware products, revealing reproducers, break-in is a REAL process and can take surprising turns.

But. . .and a big but. . . the sound of this amp demands that I comment on it right now. . . and later.

And my comments will be very favorable.

First off, the very first notes that flow through this amp will let a seasoned Decware user know, definitively, that this amp is a DECWARE AMP, and all that entails in superior sound and big bad bang for buck. It's right there, it's the big brother of the Select, it's the twin of the Integrated that grew up in a different family, it's one of Steve's amps, it has his signature sound and exhibits his perennial attention to detail and his unique thinking and techniques.

And as much as it has that house sound that none of the company's fans would like to be without, it has its own personality. It has an easy breathing power within its core, ready to be put to use just like that. It has a precision that is remarkable and attention-grabbing. And yet it can delicately cradle the gentlest most sensitive hint of sound or texture and place it protectively just where it should be.

If you read the design notes to this amp you see a brilliance of thinking and a care of implementation that appears remarkable to be behind an amplifier anywhere near this price point. And on top of that a cohesive vision of what an amplifier such as this could and SHOULD do. When you see and heft it you can only marvel at the quality of construction and parts. When you spend an hour with it you realize this is one of those special components that lived up to the designer's intentions and can take on your present and future needs.

It's hard to describe the sound. I've run my RL2s with four amps now over the years (three Decware amps, one, my old Proton, temporarily while the Monoblocks were being updated) and this is the amp that controls them with authority and finesse, this is the one to keep connected, the speakers breathe, sing, and if you want them to, shout out a firm amen chorus. In comparison to the other amps it has the magic they do too. I think Steve summed up the difference quite succintly in the designer's notes:

"It boils down to the slightly romantic interpretation known to Single ended amps vs. the more realistic (live) and honest presentation of this new amp."

Yes, there's a bit of misty bloom that lives in the single-ended amps that this amp simply doesn't allow. And that may well be the deciding factor for someone, but as one who lived with the bloom for so long this is REALITY, this is the heartbeat and foundation, this is the amp that brings out everything in my stystem that I want to hear.

The icing on the cake for me is the treble cut adjustment pots, a little known secret available for Decware amps. . . I think I'll start another thread about those. Their inclusion on this and my Integrated has allowed me to tailor the sound to recordings and made silk purses out of pigs' ears. For anyone with a large collection of recordings and who doesn't only listen to the really good ones, this is a great feature, almost indispensable to me now.

So I say to anyone who is, to quote the title of this thread, "Considering Torii Mark II", "Consider hard, save up, take the chance, I sincerely doubt you'll ever send it back for a refund." Kudoes to Steve, this certainly IS a referrence amp.

More great sound today. A bit smoother treble today, always welcome. (Could have been the source material, I listened to quite a few "Keepknews Collection" cds from Concord. These are Riverside and Milestone lps remastered very nicely in 24 bit by Joe Tarantino.

Yep, same here. Really liking my setup with the TORII MK II. Hard to listen to anything else now a days.

Lon, you use preamp?

Did an experiment tonight while eagerly awaiting delivery on a CSP2.Currently have ZP3 > ARC LS22 > TORI

The ARC is an 8 tube 6922 (not super tubes in it now, stock) but still sounds good and in test sounded better with ARC in the system. Without it sound was good but not there. Strange I thought but then thought maybe its because I have to keep the gain so low on the amp whereas with it amp was at full gain. Do not know for sure. Anyway figure I can see how the CSP2 does in comparison to the ARC and then play with tubes on the CSP2. Much cheaper doing that. Three tubes instead of eight